In the near future, America and China go head-to-head in a battle of
technological bluffs, setting in motion a chain of events that could
lead to skyrocketing oil prices, the end of the dollar, the American way
of life, and the republic itself. The only man who might have an answer
in the midst of the international crisis is Patrick “Mac” McDaniels, a
world-renowned physicist who wants nothing to do with the government.
Has he been conducting revolutionary energy research in secret? And if
so, will McDaniels be America’s salvation—or its ruin?

Guest Post

When writing The Quaker State Affair, I realized that Americans
have grown numb from all the buzz killing news thrust upon them every
day. All of us are suffering from chronic media "TMI." As a result,
we’ve become desensitized at precisely that moment in time when our
perspectives need to be challenged.

So, I endeavored to write this book to be an enjoyable read
notwithstanding the fact that all hell breaks loose. And, from the
various books reviews we’ve enjoyed, I guess that I managed to do just
that. I hope you enjoy the book and I’d love to hear from you.

The world revolves around the drill bit and yet, man has passed the
point where we pump more black, unctuous goo (oil) today than we did
yesterday. This comes at a time when our oil appetite continues to grow
exponentially. Just imagine 1.3 billion Chinese with average incomes in
2035 equal to American incomes today (fact).

The problem is that oil is priced in US dollars and those greenbacks are
losing their buying power at an unparalleled rate. Meanwhile, a
worldwide movement is afoot to replace the US dollar as the sole
currency used to purchase oil. When, not if, that occurs, life as we
know it will turn to pooh. This book is about such a moment in time,
sans the buzz kill, of course.

Compounding the geopolitical problem is an emerging China with serious
structural and cultural issues that they will not be able to suppress
for much longer. Their economy is riddled with corruption, unofficially
high levels of inflation and political unrest arising out of the
enlightenment of its people. Socio-economic tensions in China are real.
Its rural population is depopulating at a time when Chinese need
evermore from those migrating farmers. Pollution in China is out of
control. They thirst for oil. Their imports are growing faster than
their exports. The overall trade surplus of China has fallen 34 percent
since 2009. America, China’s favorite buyer, is dead, flat, irritably
broke. That’s a problem if your job is to centrally plan the world’s
second largest economy.

Amidst all the turmoil, China is amassing a naval armada unequaled in
man’s history. It uniforms over one million men and trains them at a
pre-war frenzy. For what?

If one could construct a financial balance sheet to depict the world’s
economic “net worth”, that image would paint a dire picture. The world’s
sovereign paper-based currencies and the countries that print them are
bankrupt. The corresponding Credit Default Swap redemptions would
collapse the financial systems if that realization ever took hold. This,
then, is a tale about all such things coming to a point in time when a
seemingly harmless event pushes the inevitable into motion and sets upon
the landscape a hundred years of backdrop that unfolds "overnight."
It’s a story of intrigue, tragedy and hope.

Dan Romain is a nationally recognized business consultant who built one
of the most successful insurance firms in the country. A graduate of the
University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a
member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Society, he
currently resides in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Lori, their two
children, Danielle and Brian, and their black Labrador, Kona. He has
been widely credited as one of the few who accurately predicted the
economic melt down.

Welcome to Albert Keane's beautifully designed medieval kingdom nestled in a completely isolated river valley in the Canadian wilderness. Peaceful, happy, and prosperous, it takes nothing from the modern world, not so much as a single clock.

There is a castle, of course, and a monastery. There is even a pitch dark, rat-infested dungeon - because you simply have to have one if you are trying to rule a feudal kingdom!

Farmers work the land, artisans ply their trades, monks keep school and visit the sick, and nobody (well, almost nobody) misses the modern world at all.

So why has Jack Darcey - actor, wanderer, ex-competitive fencer - been tricked and seduced into paying a visit? And why hasn't anyone told him that the only way to leave is a perilous trek across hundreds of miles of trackless wilderness without a compass or a map?

Because a tide of fear and violence is rising from the twisted ambitions of one of King Albert's nobles, and Albert's fortune teller believes that Jack could turn the tide - if he lives long enough ...

My Review

Jack is down on his luck and is transported by his old time very wealthy friend, Albert Keane into a medieval world, which he created and truly wants Jack to be part of it. At first, he doesn't know why he wants him there in the first place and I wondered myself who would want to go back living in such crude and dangerous times. Jack decides to try it out and see if it suits him. The land is worked by farmers and the trades by artisans.

He learns some surprises while he is trying to adjust to the new rules. The only way out is a long trek across hundreds of miles of wilderness, it sort of reminded me of the long and dangerous journey in the Lord Of The Rings. Will Jack get used to living there? It is filled with action and excitement and is set apart from the real world. A different kind of read, which I thought to be way out there like in a fairy tale atmosphere.

Gahan Hanmer enjoyed a colorful career in the theater as actor,
director, designer and technician, and also wandered extensively
searching for love, happiness and truth. He unintentionally became a
grown-up raising two beloved daughters and now lives in the high
chaparral desert of California.

In describing his book, Hanmer says, "The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality
has the shape of a fantasy (small kingdom set aside in time and space,
saintly king, evil duke, prophecy, unlikely hero), the book is about a
real kingdom set up in the present day by a wealthy eccentric in the
Canadian wilderness; there is no magic, no bizarre weapons or fantastic
creatures. Everything that takes place is the story is possible and
plausible. It's not a fantasy. Among other things its a serious book
about the human predicament and lies across several genres, or maybe
falls through the cracks between several genres, and that's what makes
it unique."

Friday, April 27, 2012

Last night on the Office, found the staff at a "Fundraiser" for Angela's husband, who is a Senator. Andy shows up unexpectedly after being fired and just can't get over it. Dwight ends up having to donate $30,000 after mis-interpretating the silent auction. There were good and bad funny parts in the show, I hope it picks up in the future.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

I thought I would keep you posted on Buster's happenings. He really enjoys when my niece brings her two boys over for a visit. Their ages are 4 and 6. He really loves to run around with them, he gets so excited. It's an amazing combination of children and animals. When their visit is over, Buster retreats for a rest, he's had enough exercise for the day.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Last night Tristan and Gladys were eliminated after the dance duel with Roshon, they danced the jive. It almost didn't seem fair to see the match-up, but that's what the bottom two had to do. It was a shame to see them go after weeks of watching them. Gladys "out - pipped" them all as Tom Bergeron remarked.Stay tuned.

The unseen, is as gripping, thrilling, and unforgettable as her first. In this compelling story of love, deception, obsession, and illusion, the arrival of two dangerous strangers in a small village in England in the early 1900's disrupts the quiet lives of a vicar with a fascination with spiritualism and his naive young wife, and ultimately leads to murder.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Jewel Rose was an ordinary young girl, who was constantly moving all the time. She was told by her parents that they were under a witness protection program and couldn't keep the same names wherever they went. She was told by her parents this would soon becoming to an end. As her 17 th birthday approached, there was something ominous about it. Little did she know she was to become the "Spectral" a girl with the most powers of any witch. It gets really exciting as she tries to hide away from the other covens who want these powers. Many surprising secrets are revealed to her as she makes this journey to become "Spectral". I found this to be a fast paced moving story, which totally holds your interest.

Monday, April 23, 2012

The Hunger Games The Movie

After reading the Hunger Games Series, I was anxiously awaiting to see how the movie would be cast.

As the characters came to life in their roles, I enjoyed it very much. The movie was very much according to the book and moved along very well. I especially enjoyed Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, he was good in that role. I would recommend seeing the movie, if you are enjoying the series.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Last night on Ghost Hunters, the taps team investigated the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis Md., regarding claims attributed to a ghostly marine. Years ago it was believed that a suicide was committed and the ghost of this marine was still haunting there. Some sounds were heard on the evidence tapes but no spirit was seen as reported. This was also one of Grant's final investigations.

This story take place in the Bronx in the 1960's. It revolves around a Jewish family who has to help pay a debt owed by the father to a gangster because of his bookmaking. The mother, Pearl, is a real character, who plots to raise the money by embezzlement. Ricky. the son, has to take over his father's bookie business or else. This family has to decide at what price they will have to make sacrifices for each other. I found it to be a fast paced and interesting story.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

This is a thriller about Dr. Al Chandler, whose reputation as an advocate for health care reform is growing in leaps and bounds. He is a very charming man, who believes his life couldn't get much better, until he meets the beautiful Pandora Coltman. She convinces him to go to a tropical paradise in the Bahamas to be an emergency room doctor.Pandora turns up dead and Dr. Chandler has to wonder if he will be a target to. It's a thrilling read as many dangerous secrets are revealed.

Last night on DWTS, Latin dances were featured, including Sambas, Argentine Tangos, and Salsas. Melissa Gilbert returned after her injury last week and was told her salsa needed more control. Katherine and Derek got 29 pts.and they were told that their tango was like"poetry in motion". William and Cheryl also got the high score of 29 pts. for their sultry Argentine tango. Sorry to say Gavin DeGraw got the lowest score of the night. Stay tuned.

"Can I learn to be more psychic?" "I had abilities as a child, but I shut them out. Can I get those abilities Back?" Those are questions I've been asked thousands of times, my response is always "maybe", because there are no guarantees or absolutes in the world of psychic phenomena. Pg. 25

Monday, April 16, 2012

Over the week-end I experienced seeing Titanic again after about 15 years. It was great the first time and even greater seeing it again. Leonardo looked so young and Kate looked great. The story of them in it is just amazing. The tragedy of it still seems unbelievable and it seems hard to believe it was 100 years ago. It still captures the audience in it's never forgotten struggle for the people who survived and the many who died in those frozen waters. It truly is a reminder that nothing is for certain, a great movie.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Last night began the first in the last of Grant's investigations on Ghost Hunters. The one I watched was called Frighternity, an old fraternity house that was being haunted.A girl died years ago , when she fell down a flight of stairs and everyone avoided the staircase. Claims of mysterious noises were heard in the attic also,a bedroom door was also slammed.But at the end of the investigation, they were told that nothing would threaten them.An interesting case.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight everyday, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won't give up on someone she's loved for so long.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

This story takes place in London and the year is 1850. Charles Maddox, who's career was ended due to insubordination, is now out on his own trying to make a living. He is given a case by a feared attorney and starts out thinking it is a simple case, but it turns out to be much more than he had anticipated. It's very dark and escalates even to a darker place. This is an ingenious novel, set in a time when unraveling a dark mystery almost seems impossible. I liked the suspense and graphic nature very intriguing.

Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.

As she struggles to uncover who her family has really been running from, she is forced to hide her birthmark that reveals who she is. With new realities surfacing, unexplained powers appearing, and two tempting boys vying for her heart, Jewel battles to learn who she can trust in an ever growing sea of lies, hoping she’ll make it through her seventeenth birthday alive.

Monday, April 9, 2012

I started to watch The Killing again last night.Mitch thinks she sees her daughter Rosie on the side of the road, hitchhiking. But she is still working on her sanity due to her daughter's death. Linden confronted Holder and wanted the real backpack of Rosie's back. So much going on, till then a lot of speculation and conversation.

Convinced she's part of the witness protection program sixteen year old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home 27, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Last night on the The Voice , the finalists were really terrific they gave it their all and it showed. Naturally, everyone has their favorites and mine is Chris, his voice is huge and I saw him as the winnner when he first sang. The others are great but to me he stands out. He is on Christina Aguilera's team.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Gwendoline, Lady Muir, has seen her share of tragedy, especially since a freak accident took her husband too soon. Content in a quiet life with friends and family, the young widow has no desire to marry again. But when Hugo, Lord Trentham, scoops her up in her arms after a fall, she feels a sensation that both shocks and emboldens her.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Buster The Shih- Tzu Pup

To keep you updated on our Buster, he went for his Easter grooming the other day and was highly praised by his groomer and helper. He is getting used to it and was able to be left by himself for the two hours. When he was picked up he eagerly was glad to see his owner and return home to his familiar surroundings. Have a Happy Easter everybody.